Art - The Streets

New West Addy Microhood: Haybro

— By Zach Perkins |

No seriously, where the fuck is Haybro? (spotted in my hood near Broderick & Golden Gate)

UPDATE: It was Hayes and Broderick, ie: 'HayBro'.  Fuck you, I was drunk.

The boundaries of 'Western Addition' can be a touchy subject.  To some, West Addy is a small rectangular microhood from Divis to Gough (ie: a Real Estate map/NOPA home owners). But anyone who's familiar with the smallest scrap of SF history and the ability to type 'www.wikipedia.org' knows that this is a bullshit ploy to carve out the most desirable neighborhoods of the area and distance them from the negative connotation of the Western Addition name. 

Western Addition map via WikiTravel

To others West Addy refers to a much larger area; from Arguello to Franklin and Oak all the way north to California, encompassing the microhoods of Alamo Square, the Fillmore, NOPA, Japantown, USF, Anza Vista, Lower Pac Heights, Laurel Heights and Hayes Valley.  This definition, or some close variant, is widely accepted by THOSE OF US WHO ACTUALLY LIVE THERE (sans card-carrying NOPNA members, and by card-carrying I mean the NIMBY pricks who put 'Welcome to the North Panhandle' signs in the windows of the Grove St house they bought 3 to 9 months ago).  So, in conclusion:

  1. What and where is 'Haybro'?
  2. Are you with #team_westAddy or #team_NOPAyall?
  3. Who is #team_Haybro and do they kick with the NOPAs or the West Addys? Dodgers or Giants?? Espresso Martinis or Popeye's Chicken???

A friendly reminder (pic via Toph Kerpan Evans, via SFist)

Previously on Uptown Almanac: 

One Day This Kid...

— By Jenny Wilson |

David Wojnarowicz (1954 — 1992), Untitled (One Day This Kid…), 1990

Before you read any of this, stop. Read the text surrounding the little boy in the image above. Great, thanks.

On October 28th, Tyler Green of Modern Art Notes wrote that the artist David Wojnarowicz seems important right now. Green authored this post about Wojnarowicz, the New York artist who gained notoriety in the East Village art scene of the 1980s, in wake of hearing about the rise of anti-gay bullying and the gay teenage suicide epidemic sweeping our nation. Wojnarowicz's work was created 20 years ago, but as we have seen so recently, his words are still very relevant. I'm also pretty sure that any person growing up LGBT or questioning can attest, anti-gay bullying is nothing new to the community. But finally, there's some major action going on to spread the word that It Get's Better.

In his post Green called for the Museums that have Wojnarowicz's Untitled (One Day This Kid…) in their permanent collection to place the piece on display immediately in order to engage the public with this honest depiction of growing up gay in America. Apparently, none of the five museums Green listed have placed this work on view yet. However, the amazing people at P.P.O.W. Gallery who represent Wojnarowicz's estate are doing their part to use the power of art to effect change in our communities. The above piece Untitled (One Day This Kid…) is now available for download through this site. As Wojnarowicz's said in his book Close to the Knives: A Memoir of Disintegration, “bottom line, if people don't say what they believe, those ideas and feelings get lost. If they are lost often enough, those ideas and feelings never return.” So read it, print it, post it, share it. Because sharing is caring, and in this case it might just help save some lives.

Previously on Uptown Almanac: 

Battle of the Buffs

— By Josh Constine |

Some people think graffiti turns a routine commute into an ever-evolving art adventure. Others think the disrespectful cretins shouldn't litter the city with their masturbatory scribbles. But most can agree that buffed-over street art leaves walls looking shitty.

Englishman Mobstr has been exploring the issue with the assistance of the Newcastle City Council.

Visit Vandalog for the explosive conclusion, or check out the rest of Mobstr's street and gallery-satirizing work on his Flickr. 

Could businesses type over their own buffs as a cheaper, easier way than hiring muralists to discourage the crummy taggers? Or must everything be overrun with blue dogs?

[Tip courtesy of BardotBardot, who you should follow, for she is considerably funnier than your friends.]

Previously on Uptown Almanac: 

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